


born in a new dawn

by Kuro_Ko, Sephirron



Series: of wings & crowns [3]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Birthday, Birthday Cake, F/F, Fluff, Post-Timeskip, Post-War, They are together now your honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 18:35:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28550253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuro_Ko/pseuds/Kuro_Ko, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephirron/pseuds/Sephirron
Summary: Six years have passed since the end of the war. Fódlan has entered a new dawn, a new era where Ingrid and Edelgard can dream of a new future. A new start for them to enter together as the world they built is finally at peace.Ingrid Birthday Weekend 2021.
Relationships: Ingrid Brandl Galatea/Edelgard von Hresvelg
Series: of wings & crowns [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2088078
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	born in a new dawn

The war was over and had been for a very long time. Fódlan was still rebuilding beneath the new policies and endeavors the Emperor had for their future. A future built on the merits of its people and Crests no longer holding value over a person’s worth. The theory itself was a freeing one but by no means easy. It was several years of negotiation, councils, diplomatic expeditions, and mounds and mounds of paperwork.

Edelgard was fortunate enough to be surrounded by people she trusted. The Black Eagle Strike Force didn’t exist anymore in a physical sense, but in their bonds they remained tied to one another in friendship and in some cases, love. 

On the fifth bell, the Emperor awoke in her bedroom, tangled in sheets of silk and in the arms of the woman who had kept her sane through the war and the years after. Edelgard smiled beneath the soft light barely peeking through the curtains, her bare fingertips skimming over the marble of Ingrid’s cheek. Her hands were scarred, rough from the exertion of battle, but Ingrid never minded. The knight had kissed her hands, soft lips on her skin as if her love alone could purify the suffering they had seen and the battle they had endured. 

Ingrid mumbled in her sleep, her eyes opening, still half-lidded with dreams.

“El? It’s too…,” a yawn, “early,” Ingrid sleepily mumbled.

Edelgard smiled and kissed her brow. “Yes it is, my love. Go back to sleep.”

Ingrid, too dazed to protest, nodded and dozed back off into the swell of the pillows. Edelgard didn’t join her in her slumber and instead crept quietly off their bed. Silently, she got dressed, her garb much lighter. Leagues lighter than the regalia she wore during the war, this dress was thinner and flowed to her feet in Adrestian red, gold lace weaving in intricate patterns on the cuffs and bodice. She slipped into a slightly heeled shoe and made her way out the door, closing it slowly so as to not wake the knight.

She made her way to her study and there on her desk, a stack of books she had requested. She sighed softly to herself and took a seat, a mug of tea already waiting for her. She took a sip and began flipping through one of the books. The sun continued to rise in her study and it was a few hours later that she set the books down in frustration.

Treaty paperwork was easier than this. For the Goddess’ sake, organizing an army was easier than this.

This, however, was Edelgard’s weakness. 

The title of the book stared back at her, mockingly.  _ The First Fódlan Baking Book.  _

She should’ve known she was no match for such things - she didn’t have a lick of knowledge about cooking or baking. She recalled how Ingrid used to look at her curiously during kitchen duty when she had mistakenly tried using her trusted axe as a means to chop vegetables. 

_ “It would be more efficient, no?” _

_ “That’s… not how that works at all, Your Majesty.” _

She sighed into her mug once again and a familiar shadow had loomed over her desk.

“Have the resources I provided been helpful, Your Majesty?” 

Edelgard looked up at Hubert and frowned, setting her mug down. “I appreciate your efforts Hubert but I’m afraid this is a subject I am not adept at, by any means.”

Hubert said nothing and looked at the scattered books. 

“Do you know how to bake a cake, Hubert?” Edelgard asked this time.

Hubert’s eyebrow quirked and his green eyes showed something Edelgard would call similar to embarrassment. He was her attendant after all, and unfortunately for him, in his long years of service, this was a matter he couldn’t solve for her.

“I’m afraid you’re asking the wrong person, Your Majesty,” Hubert said slowly. In an offered gloved hand, he produced his next thought. “Perhaps you would be better off asking Miss Arnault or Miss Ordelia.”

Edelgard considered the suggestion. Surely, Dorothea’s spritely attitude and Lysithea’s vast knowledge for sweets could prove helpful. She stood from her chair, ready to set out. 

“I’ll take that suggestion, Hubert. Could you find them and ask them to meet me in the kitchens?”

“It shall be done. Any other requests?” 

Edelgard smiled as she rounded the desk, a new determined flare to complete her task. “Yes, please keep Ingrid away from the kitchen.”

And with that she exited, making her way to her destination. The kitchen staff and chefs had offered to make the cake for her alongside the banquet they had already planned,  _ it is our duty to serve her Majesty and her needs. _ Edelgard waved them off with a kind smile and a nonchalant hand.

“There’s no need. I’d prefer to make it myself, it’s for someone special. But I entrust the entire menu to you all, otherwise.”

They resounded with agreement and ventured to the different stations where meals were being prepped. The bustle was lively and Edelgard hummed a tune to herself as she circled over to the counter where baking materials had been placed out for her. Several bags of flour, sugar, eggs, dairy, fruits, and other ingredients that Enbarr had to offer.

“Having trouble, Edie? Hubie said you needed help.”

Dorothea greeted her with a kind smile and emerald eyes glittering with sincerity and excitement. Lysithea was in tow, her eyes slowly scanning over the counter at the ingredients.

“Yes, unfortunately. I was trying to read some books on baking that Hubert had gathered but to no avail. I was hoping you could help me. I feel as though Lysithea would be a fair judge of things.”

Lysithea huffed, indignant for a moment. Everyone knew her love for sweets and her insatiable craving for them. But she wished they wouldn’t say it to avoid seeming like a child that didn’t have control.

“What are you trying to make, Edelgard?”

Edelgard blushed slightly and flexed her hands. “A cake. For Ingrid’s birthday.”

Dorothea practically cooed at her and Lysithea offered a teasing smile, to the Emperor’s embarrassment. 

“Of course we’ll help you! Where do we start?” Dorothea cheered and Lysithea nodded in agreement. Edelgard procured a book and opened it to a recipe page that she had folded. At a glance, it seemed like it was simple enough. A vanilla sponge cake layered with a saghert buttercream and slices of fruit. 

Emphasis on  _ seemingly simple. _

There was smoke and a lot of it, the windows needed to be opened wide to clear the room. There were several batches of cake tossed into the bin and the trio were covered head to toe in splatters of frosting and batter, and patches of flour and sugar. On the final product, the cake layers were sliding from the cream being the wrong consistency and bulging in places where the fruit had been irregularly cut and stacked.

On a test bite, Edelgard coughed a cooked portion that had a lump of flour in it. How had she even managed that? She groaned and set the fork down, crossing her arms tightly over her chest as Dorothea laid a comforting hand on her back. 

“It’s okay, Edie.”

“It looks and tastes terrible, Dorothea,” Edelgard sighed into her hands.

“Sweetie, Ingrid loves you so much she would eat rocks and she’d still be happy.”

Lysithea looked extremely unimpressed, with criticism to balance. “You might as well just feed her rocks because they would certainly taste better than this.” 

Dorothea winced and Edelgard sighed again, not even flinching at the wounding words. She may just have to give in and ask one of the bakers for help. Still…

“I’d like to try again. Maybe we should ask one of the bakers to guide us through it,” Edelgard thought aloud.

“Why don’t you just have them make it completely? It’s less work for you and less stress,” Dorothea said gently. 

Edelgard had peeked at the sky through the window, a sunny day in a bright blue ocean, the clouds rolling in waves. She recalled all the times Ingrid took her flying, the exhilarating feeling of being so close to the clouds, like her fingertips could graze the stars. Ingrid had given her a gift no one else had - freedom to love and freedom to choose. The knight had whisked her away on feathered flight just so she could be at peace, even for a moment, away from the dreams that still haunted her to this day. Ingrid had stood by her side through the war, unflinchingly and with quiet reassurances in the night, when the blood on her hands was too much to bear. 

Dorothea was right. Ingrid had loved her so much. And that was why-

“I just want to give her a nice gift for her birthday, is all. I can’t be a proper wife if I can’t cook a simple cake!”

Dorothea and Lysithea had stared back at her, like the first time she had proclaimed that she was going to tear down the Church of Seiros. With shock and bewilderment, but different this time as well, because there was joy in their gazes too.

“You’re going to ask her to marry you?” Dorothea asked, a kind smile on her face. 

Edelgard’s breath caught in her throat, realizing what she had said. She could feel the heat on her cheeks as she squirmed beneath their unrelenting curious looks. 

“If she’ll have me…” she whispered. That earned her a smack on her arm and she peered down at Lysithea with a questioning look. 

“She’ll have no one else but you, you fool,” Lysithea remarked, her words firm but her smile light and encouraging.

And like a memory that had filtered through her consciousness, she remembered the end of the war. How even though the flames of the kingdom burned around them, there was utter relief as their weapons dropped from their hands when the beast had fallen. Ingrid had looked at her, soot caked on her cheeks and her blonde hair was messy and falling from her braid. Edelgard felt the tears in her eyes as Ingrid ran to her and took her into her arms, lifting her off her feet and twirling them around in a swirl of giggling delight. 

_ “We’ve won, El! We’re alive!” _

_ Edelgard had laughed with her, watery from her tears. “I love you.”  _

They had won, they had survived, and they had loved one another. Edelgard couldn’t help but match the grins Dorothea and Lysithea were giving her. 

She sighed, content. “I know.”

* * *

Astra wasn’t the same as she was, age starting to slow down her strong hooves and keeping herself most of the time on the ground near her stable, rather than in the sky where she used to spend more of her days. Ingrid pet the length of her neck, her ears that never stopped moving, and her soft snout. Ingrid had an apple for her in her pocket, Astra knew, and had pushed her chest softly asking for the prize.

“Yes, girl, I know,” Ingrid chuckled, using both of her hands to rub her cheeks before offering Astra the snack. “Your favorite, as always.” Their flights were now meant to be just for their leisure. Bonding time that they shared wordlessly. Ingrid wouldn’t ask Astra to dive into battle and carry them both through a forest of blades to emerge victorious and strong any longer.

Long gone were the days when Astra’s wings were able to bring them to a full halt in less than a second in the sky.

Ingrid watched her eat the apple with contentment and her heart soared. It was good, however, they didn’t need to fight anymore for the life they wanted.

They had found a home.

There was no need to fight anymore, not when the world they had fought so hard to build was finally blossoming into what they had envisioned years ago. Astra’s mane was now braided. Ingrid used to comb it and re-do the braids everyday, her leisure time extended as her knightly duties decreased. Even today, the day she knew she was going to be swept away all afternoon by her  _ surprise  _ party.

There was no way in all Fódlan that Edelgard hadn’t prepared something for her, after all she was the Emperor’s knight and her partner. She was the Emperor’s lover and Edelgard never let an opportunity pass to treat her or grab her arm, a subtle yet unequivocal display of affection for the world to see.

“I’ll be back with more tomorrow, okay, girl?” Ingrid petted her once more before turning back and leaving the stables, in her shoulders a short red cape, short, yet delicate. It had been part of her uniform for a few years already, when Edelgard told her that she was free to walk as she pleased instead of wearing armor everyday.

They weren’t at war anymore.

Besides, Edelgard had given her enough ornaments and clothes for her to use that it would be a waste not to, right?

It wasn’t as cold as in Galatea, or any other region in the Kingdom, Ingrid walked with a happy spring in each step.

The sky in Enbarr was clear, no clouds to foreshadow rain or snow. The people that were born and raised there walked hurriedly, wrapped in heavy coats and rubbing their hands together to fight off the cold. She smiled and took a deep breath in.

She had made a home when she never thought she could even have a family.

The palace in Enbarr was ample and welcoming, banners that the wind played with and the proud black eagle that was the Adrestrian emblem, and now the banner that oversaw the continent unified by Edelgard. Ingrid could walk those hallways with her eyes closed by now. She had learned by heart the steps it took from the throne room to the entrance, how many guards patrolled every corner, and the windows that were big enough for a clean shot at her Emperor. She had learned routes to always use her body as a shield for Edelgard without the Emperor knowing.

She had looked at those walls and had found traces that now composed her home.

She had taken shelter in the Emperor’s quarters and had found peace and love.

Ingrid’s smile was bright when she nodded to the guards that saluted at her.

Edelgard had built a new future and a home for them. It hadn’t been easy, they hadn’t always agreed, they had fought and clashed yet remained together, tides that fell and rose endlessly, that could try to pull away, but were always tied together by their desire to be together.

They had learned, they had given and taken.

They had accepted each other, flaws and imperfections, strengths and virtues.

Ingrid was twenty-eight now, and she felt somewhere whole and happy.

The hallway was a warm brown color, decorated with old armors and new portraits, lightened by the windows she knew couldn’t harm her or the ones she loved.

Ingrid had been calloused and straightforward. She hadn’t stopped before to think about her actions. Naive and idealistic, she had dreamed to change so the world would accept her as she wanted to be accepted.

Now she had changed the world so it would accept her as she was.

Edelgard had taught her that.

Edelgard, so strong, so secure, so prone to keep her heart away from everyone. Ingrid had gone through each wall with her heart on her sleeve, showing Edelgard exactly what she felt instead of telling her. Ingrid hadn’t shied away when Edelgard tried to hide behind the Emperor facade. Ingrid, with the same strength she had when she led a battalion, had waited and tried.

Ingrid had tried.

Edelgard, who had been cold, calculating, so hyper focused on what was to come that she never stopped to look at herself in the present. Edelgard who had fallen in love and yet had denied herself of the joy of holding Ingrid close as she wished for. As the both of them had wished for.

Ingrid had tried, she had tried and had hoped, for she had wished to see the new dawn Edelgard wanted to create, she had wished to stay by her side as her knight, as her friend, as her warrior.

They had changed.

They had changed and, in the process, they had changed each other.

Ingrid was twenty-eight now, and as she made her way through the palace to the kitchen where she knew she would get treated to cake by the cooks. It was still early and she could give Edelgard more time for her to prepare her surprise.

Ingrid wasn’t in a hurry anymore. She was still as straightforward as she had been years ago, but now she could stop and think before acting, she didn’t need to rush to a better future.

She was living in a wonderful present

Hubert appeared from the kitchen, his dark clothes stained with white flour he hadn’t dusted yet. Ingrid stopped for a second, raising her eyebrows and putting together quickly what was going on behind those doors.

So maybe she wasn’t going to get her cake right there.

“Ingrid, happy birthday,” he nodded, wiping his left shoulder absentmindedly, “Would you care to join me? Petra should have arrived at Enbarr today and the Queen must be received properly.”

“Uh… sure…” What kind of excuse was that and how could Hubert say it with a straight face was something she would never understand. She let herself be led away, walking next to the tall man in silence.

He had changed as well.

Time was a companion nobody could escape from.

War had been cruel, but it had bonded them together, chains that could never be broken. She had fought by his side and won, she had protected him and he had put his own life on the line for her. When Ingrid had mentioned it to Hubert later, he had shrugged and said that Lady Edelgard would be inconsolable if she were to lose Ingrid.

The wide stairs to the palace received them alongside a smiling Petra who was hopping down a carriage as agile as ever. “Ingrid! Happiest of birthdays!” She crossed the distance that separated them and hugged her tight, lifting her by her waist as she laughed.

Ingrid laughed as well and patted her shoulder.

Dorothea had arrived days ago in preparation and her former classmates and friends were there as well, arriving one by one.

“Petra, it is always a pleasure. Would you accompany us to your chambers? I presume this weather isn’t of your liking.” Hubert bowed to the Queen, Petra pushed his shoulder and nodded, she was wearing a coat so heavy it was hard to tell exactly where it finished and her body started. Ingrid smiled and followed dutifully.

Another distraction.

Whatever Edelgard was trying to make it was something she had to see for herself, wasn’t it?

They had changed.

Fódlan had changed.

In her shoulders rested a cape and the absolute certainty that she loved and she was loved.

Ingrid, under the roof of the Enbarr palace, surrounded by her friends and looking forward to seeing Edelgard’s lilac eyes when they met again after her haste goodbye that morning, was happy.

Ingrid was happy and that wasn’t a surprise.

She had built the life she wanted to live.

She had changed and, in return, the world had changed for her.

Ingrid let herself be led away by Hubert, different former members of the Black Eagles Strike Force joining them, embracing her, smiling at her.

Caspar had pushed her shoulder and hugged her hard enough for her spine to crack.

Linhardt had given her a book he had even wrapped and looked awake enough to tag along with Caspar as they visited the most random places in the palace, pointedly avoiding the main hall and the kitchen. Ingrid laughed sheepishly and enjoyed the love and attention her friends were giving her.

Ingrid was happy.

She was living in a present that was worth living for, that was worth the fighting and the sacrifices they have made for.

And when the sun started to set in the horizon, the long night of winter looming over them, Hubert straightened up and a so rare smile softened his features as he bowed to her and asked the knight and the former Strike Force to accompany him to the hall.

Ingrid had to make a conscious effort to not sprint through the hallways and rooms she knew by heart, making sure that she nodded at every salute she received from the guards and servants. The grand hall’s doors were open and Ingrid could see the decorations from afar, Ferdinand looking proud and excited, while Bernadetta did her best to not hide behind him and waved at her shily.

If they were there, that meant that…

Ingrid entered the hall and looked around, noticing the tables already arranged with hearty, diverse dishes and the chairs that moments ago Sylvain and Felix had been using to wait for them.

In the center, where eyes would naturally follow and look for her, the spotlight of Ingrid’s life and her beacon in the dark, Edelgard smiled and waited for her.

Ingrid crossed the distance in long strides and laughed as she took Edelgard in her arms and swirled them around, barely noticing how her friends joined in a messy, warm group hug. Everybody that had been missing in their hectic wandering in the palace was there. Byleth, still their professor they admired was smiling wide as she used since the war had come to an end. Dorothea and Lysithea, who had gifts of their own to present to her, Marianne, Hilda and even Leonie had come from the Alliance, a testament of the state of politics in Fódlan.

Ingrid choked with emotion when Edelgard told her how each of them had played a role into getting everything ready for her.

How they had traveled and prepared and planned in advance for her.

She bit into her cake and laughed, swallowing grateful tears and listening to everybody’s stories and news, as if they were back in the monastery after class. As if they were back to peaceful times where they could grow to be who they wanted to be.

What they wanted to be.

Peaceful times that harbored the future they so much desired for.

In a way, they were.

Despite Lysithea’s loud objections, Ingrid had three servings of her cake, which tasted better than it looked. Byleth crossed her arms and shook her head as they all listened from the little mage the struggle the Emperor had gone through to bake something that was edible.

Edelgard, embarrassed but still collected, laughed it off and held her hand close through the afternoon and into the night, as their voices finally tired out and yawns replaced their smiles. All of them had had their share and the trip was finally setting deep in their bones.

And when Ingrid stretched and yawned, now in the intimacy of their quarters, she was satisfied with life as she had never been.

Her heart full, her goals fulfilled, new goals forming in the horizon and her heart soaring for what was to come.

She sighed peacefully as her back hit the bed, belly full from all the dishes and slices of cake she had eaten. A blanket of calm had come over her and she could fall asleep just like this, sprawled on their bed in the sheets that smelled like the sun in Ingrid’s hair and bergamot of Edelgard’s favorite tea. Edelgard’s light chuckle filled her ears and Ingrid smiled without opening her eyes. She felt the weight of the bed dip as Edelgard sat beside her, combing her fingers through her soft blonde tresses.

“I take it you enjoyed the party,” Edelgard said amused. Ingrid hummed in contentment and nodded. She sat up to meet Edelgard with her eyes sparkling with such joy that Edelgard swooned just a bit more.

“El, it was perfect, I wasn’t expecting everyone to be there at all,” Ingrid replied brightly and almost dreamily, an emotional high from being surrounded by so much happiness. Her family she had found during the toils of war. “You really didn’t have to put all that work in for me, though.” 

“Of course I had to,” Edelgard replied, her fingers laced with Ingrid’s own. “You are precious to me, Ingrid. You deserve to enjoy your special day.” 

Ingrid smiled and kissed the back of Edelgard’s knuckles with a brush of her lips. It never failed to make that subtle blush bloom on the Emperor’s cheeks, something that Ingrid adored immensely. “Well, thank you, El. I feel very special today.”

“I have another gift for you,” Edelgard said suddenly. Ingrid blinked and tilted her head, a bit confused. She had been showered with so many gifts already. She did think it was peculiar that everyone had banded together this year to meet for her birthday - not that she wasn’t grateful, but it was strange. It was though something bigger was happening, as to what, she couldn’t fathom. She had everything she needed and could ever possibly want. 

“Another?” Ingrid parroted. “El, you really don’t need to-”

“But I do, it’s important. It’s…,” she paused, a look of nervousness passing through her eyes which Ingrid didn’t miss. Edelgard’s lips pursed and she nodded to herself, as if she had an internal conversation of trying to rack up enough courage. She turned to Ingrid once more. “It’s everything.”

Ingrid stared back at her and slowly nodded, letting Edelgard slip her hand away from hers so she could cross their room, slipping a neatly folded parchment from the study’s drawer. With careful steps and slightly trembling fingers, Edelgard took her seat beside her once again and offered it to her. 

Ingrid carefully unfolded the parchment and was welcomed to the sight of Edelgard’s neat, practiced handwriting in ink. Her eyes widened to the size of teacup saucers, skimming over the words and realizing exactly what this was.

_ The Proclamation of Abdication  _

_ By the Emperor, Her Majesty Edelgard von Hresvelg, her last royal decree states… _

Ingrid stopped and her head snapped up to meet Edelgard’s eyes. They were calm this time around, this had clearly been on her mind for months, or maybe even years.

“El… is this what you really want?” Ingrid asked hesitantly.

Edelgard took Ingrid’s hand between both her palms and squeezed. “It is. I’m leaving the Empire in the hands of Hubert and Ferdinand until they find a suitable successor to the throne. I have no regrets with this decision.”

“But… what does this have to do with me?” Edelgard had said it was a gift after all. Ingrid didn’t know why but she could feel the thrum of her heart against her ribcage as she awaited her lover’s answer. Edelgard exhaled a shaky breath and sank to her knees before Ingrid at the foot of her bed. Ingrid felt her heart leap to her throat - how many countless times had she herself, the Emperor’s knight, knelt before Edelgard’s feet? How many times had she looked up to her - a halo of light cascading from her crown that made Ingrid feel as though she were at heaven’s doors, right there on earth. 

Never would she have imagined, the sheer sight of Edelgard kneeling before her now to leave her breathless. 

And then Edelgard slipped a ring from her pocket, the band a silver shine like a pegasus’ wings, and the emerald stone twinkling in hundreds of facets, for the hundreds of reasons that Edelgard had loved her. 

Ingrid, for once in her life, had nothing to say. 

“Because I want you to marry me, my heart. I want you to come with me, I want us to truly live free in the world we created. Where we are free to choose who we love and choose the home we build, together,” Edelgard replied, her voice steady from all the strength Ingrid had given her over the years. “You’ve been by my side, through everything, through my tears, my suffering, our battles, and I-” 

Edelgard’s breath hitched in her throat and Ingrid in her silence, caught the tear that tracked down her face with a gentle swipe of her thumb. Edelgard savored the warmth, her other hand gently sliding over the back of Ingrid’s on her cheek.

“I love you, Ingrid. I couldn’t imagine living in this new dawn without you. So, please…”

Ingrid hadn’t realized her own tears until then. 

Like a flood, the years had gone by in her head. The memories of battle, standing back to back bloodied and exhausted, but their love enough to fuel them to just survive because they couldn’t live without each other. The nights she held Edelgard tight in her arms as sobs shook through her small frame and Ingrid’s heart grieving that there was nothing else she could do to hold her together. The day she returned home from Galatea, empty and alone, and Edelgard had waited to catch the knight that could no longer stand to protect anyone, so the Emperor in turn protected her heart.

Then it was the night before the invasion on Garreg Mach, the first battle that would step onto their path towards their new lives. And then the world had opened up when Edelgard first pressed her lips to hers in a desperate, loving kiss. When they had pulled away, Edelgard’s forehead rested against her jaw as she had been pained to even be separate from her. Like a prayer that they would never know the feeling of being apart. 

_ “Ingrid, promise you’ll stay with me.” _

_ Ingrid dropped another kiss to her temple and whispered against her hair. “For as long as you’ll have me.” _

In a swift motion, Ingrid had swept Edelgard into an embrace, lifting her off the ground and pressing her flush against her body. Her face buried into Edelgard’s collarbone as more tears burned hotly down her face. Edelgard had weaved her hand into the back of Ingrid’s hair, embracing her just as tightly. 

Ingrid pulled away to look at her, her face messy with watery streaks but bright with a happy smile. Edelgard felt her heart skip across spaces. 

“I love you, El. I would have no one else as my wife,” Ingrid answered. She was rewarded with the purest look of elation on Edelgard’s face, her lilac eyes in full bloom and her smile shining like the sun on a spring day. And now Ingrid would be able to see that expression, like a gift, for all their days to come.

Edelgard had brought her in for a deep kiss, slipping the ring onto Ingrid’s finger and intertwining them. A bright new promise and a new future that Ingrid could’ve scarcely imagined. 

A daughter she could raise to love the sky as her mother had learned. To tell her she loved her for all that she was and all that she would be. For Edelgard to hold her, and whisper promises of protecting her and making her happy, free to choose her own path. And to wake with Edelgard, at every morning light as a reminder of the dawn they built together.

Ingrid kissed her back with as much fervor, her love spilling over the brim of her heart. Edelgard smiled against her lips and whispered. 

“Happy Birthday, my love.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed our little edelgrid series, we had a lot of fun with it! Happy birthday to Ingrid and check out the hashtag on Twitter to support other artists & writers! If you like Edelgrid, I have an ongoing series “Tales of Chivalry”! Appreciate all your support!! -Moni / Sephirron
> 
> Happy birthday, Ingrid! This was so much fun and I’m really happy we could share with you this series! Amazing artists and writers are working on this and I encourage you to check them out as well on Twitter!
> 
> Thank you for joining us in this and I hope you all have enjoyed it! -Kuro


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